Sourav Ganguly picks India’s most important match at 2023 ODI World Cup and it is NOT India vs Pakistan

Sourav Ganguly surprisingly ignored India vs Pakistan while naming most important game for the hosts at 2023 ODI World Cup.

Sourav Ganguly picks India’s most important match at 2023 ODI World Cup and it is NOT India vs Pakistan

Sourav Ganguly does not rate India vs Pakistan as high as others (Images via Business Today, Cricxtasy)

Former India captain Sourav Gangly picked the most important game for India at the 2023 ODI World Cup and to everyone’s surprise, it is not India vs Pakistan. While everyone eagerly waits for the biggest cricketing rivalry to unfold at the world’s largest stadium on 15 October, Sourav Ganguly is waiting for 8 October. 

The former India captain believes that the most important game for India at the World Cup will be their opening match against Australia. Ganguly said that as Pakistan have not been able to challenge India in the recent past, the game does not excite him anymore. 

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“There is a lot of hype in this match (India vs Pakistan) but the quality has not been that good for a long time because India kept on winning one-sided. Pakistan probably defeated India for the first time in the T20 World Cup in Dubai,” said Ganguly. 

“India did not play well in that tournament (T20 World Cup 2021) but according to me, India vs Australia tends to be a better game in the World Cup because the quality is better,” he added.

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Sourav Ganguly identifies key bowler for India at ODI World Cup

yuzvendra chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal (Image via HT)

The former India skipper also talked about the importance of wrist spinners especially when playing against SENA countries. Ganguly then suggested that the management should keep an eye on Yuzvendra Chahal as he can be a key bowler for India at the quadrennial showpiece event and cited Piyush Chawla’s example. 

“(Ravi) Bishnoi and Kuldeep (Yadav) are there but (Yuzvendra) Chahal somehow misses big tournaments. He performs extremely consistently in shorter formats, whether it is 20-over or 50-over. It is important to keep an eye on him as well,” Ganguly said on Star Sports.

“When you will play Australia, England, or South Africa, a wrist-spinner makes a difference in these conditions. In 2011, there was Piyush Chawla, who bowled well.”

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